


Captivated By the Pirate Captain

by Magnetism_bind



Category: Gentleman Jack (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Ann Walker's Shoulders Should Be Worshipped, Ann Walker's shoulders, Beach Sex, Captivity, Desire, Dissociation, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Manipulation, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Face-Sitting, Falling In Love, Flirting, Getting to Know Each Other, Internalized Homophobia, Internalized Misogyny, Kidnapping, Lust at First Sight, Masturbation, Memories, Miscommunication, Molestation, Nightmares, Oral Sex, Past Rape/Non-con, Rape/Non-con Elements, Religious Assholes, Religious Guilt, Rescue, Shame, Trust Issues, look somebody had to write this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2020-12-17 15:34:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 16,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21056732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magnetism_bind/pseuds/Magnetism_bind
Summary: While en route to visit her sister in Charles-Town Ann Walker's ship is taken by pirates. She has little faith in her family to recover her, and no hope at all of a rescue.Still, when the pirates are attacked by an enemy ship, help does come from an unexpected quarter: the notorious pirate captain Gentleman Jack.





	1. Chapter 1

The first thump of boots on the deck overhead made Ann tremble down in the hold. It was one thing to already know your captor, to know what to expect from the routine indignities and humiliations, fully aware of the dangers they posed to one’s person. But a new captor came with new terrors... It made her throat dry and her stomach heave in a most uncomfortable way.  
  
Really, it was quite unfair to be taken prisoner twice. It was enough to make one wish they had stayed at home in the first place.  
  
Not that she had any desire to be returned to her family in England, but that was a private thought. No, mostly she wished simply to finish her journey to Charles-Town and forget any of these days had ever happened.  
  
_Much luck there_, she thought bitterly. The memories of these days would join the other ghosts that whispered to her at night. There was little escape.

She tried to focus on now. The boots were growing louder, and though there were the occasional shout as well, the cannon fire had ceased. She strained her ears to hear, desperately needing to know what was happening.

The captain of the vessel she was currently a prisoner of had told her that there was no hope of a rescue. And even if there was...she didn’t know what to hope for anyway. For it to be the British navy? She’d heard they were as vicious as pirates, truth be told. And who else would be attacking the ship?  
  
Once upon a time she would have prayed, but there is no rescue from that quarter. No benevolent god looking down upon her. If such a being did exist, they had forsaken Ann a long time ago. All the same, she clutched her bound hands around her knees more tightly, and prayed to the sea, a wordless, hopeless plea that help might come to her.

* * *

  
  
  
When the door was finally thrust open, two men stood in the doorway, surveying her silently.  
  
“Best get her up on deck.” One of them growled to the other.  
  
They untied her wrists from the wall where she had been bound, and hoisted her towards the stairs. Her legs cramped under her but Ann forced herself to stay upright and not trip as they made their way up on deck.  
  
There the sunlight made her blink, raising her hands to shield her eyes. She tasted sea salt on her lips and the clear air made her spirits rise in spite of herself.  
  
“Here, lass.” The pirate had his hand on her shoulder, guiding her towards a wide plank balanced between two ships. It looked unwieldy in the open sea breeze. The water below looked wretched and dark.  
  
Ann stared at it helplessly. “You want me to cross that?”  
  
The pirate gave her a nod. “You can do it. Just walk steady.”  
  
Ann took a deep breath and placed a foot upon the plank. The breeze whipped around her skirts as she took another cautious step. Across the water, aboard the enemy pirate ship, a flash of black caught her eye and she looked up, startled.  
  
The figure up on the quarterdeck was all in black, a swooping black hat upon his head, his face turned towards the open sea as though he were already finished with the ship he had taken prisoner, as though its contents and prisoners held little interest to him.  
  
Ann stood there, fists clenched as she considered the plank before her. Would it be so terrible to drown? Was that a better fate than being subjected to another round of horror and torment? She couldn't decide and yet she had only a few seconds to do so. Her feet took another step along the plank.  
  
It wobbled.  
  
She looked up again at the menacing figure on the deck across from her. And then the man turned, and the brim of the hat curled in the wind, and Ann caught a glimpse of deep brunette hair underneath the hat. A face that…belonged to no man, most certainly.  
  
Her breath caught in her throat as she stared at the pirate. Surely that wasn't a woman...was it?  
  
Ann took a step closer to make certain she wasn't imagining things and then the next thing she knew, she was falling through the air, the wind whistling through her thin dress and the cold grip of the waves waiting below to greet her.  
  
She tried to cry out, but the water was already claiming her, pulling her down. It filled her lungs as she fought to breathe, struggled to swim with her bound wrists. And all she could think was she didn't want to die, not yet, not today, not like this.  
  
And then strong hands reached through the water and caught her, and she was pulled from the sea, breaking through to the surface once more. There was shouting all around, a net drawing her up and away to the ship, and then the hard deck beneath her hands as she retched up sea water and bile. The sky spun overhead and the sunlight hurt her eyes.  
  
A hand caught her, steadying her and she looked up dizzily into a narrow, stern face with dark eyes and all she could think was_, I was right. It was a woman after all._  
  
And then she swooned and the world went dark around her.

* * *

  
  
  
Ann woke to warmth surrounding her. She felt muddled for a moment as she could not think why she was still lying abed at such a late hour. And then she moved slightly, and her wrists and ankles ached, and the harsh smack of the water returned to her.  
  
She sat up with a fright, looking around her. She was in a cabin, the cabin belonging to the new pirate captain no doubt. She was a prisoner yet again, subject to the whim of yet another captor. Then it came back to her.  
  
The woman on the quarterdeck. The captain of the opposing pirate vessel was a woman.  
  
She took a deep breath, and then touched her hand to her throat. It ached dreadfully and she feared she would be sick from the soreness of it.  
  
"From the sea."  
  
Startled, Ann looked around her.  
  
There was a desk in the corner of the room and there sat the woman she had spied up on the deck. The woman sat back in her seat, one boot propped up against the desk as she tugged it off, the other leg spread wide. Her hair was off, revealing that dark brown hair Ann had spied. She had removed the massive black coat already. Her clothes were dripping wet.  
  
Ann had never seen a woman dressed like this. For that matter she had never seen a woman who was a pirate before, and she found it fascinating, in spite of the flutter of fear in her breast.  
  
"The sea water. You swallowed a great deal of it." The woman clarified curtly. "Rest your throat and it'll soon be better." She paused and continued to remove her boots, finally succeeding. She set them aside next to the chest where her large black coat had been flung to dry. Even clad only in her billowing shirt sleeves and vest, sleek black breeches and stockings she still cut an imposing figure.  
  
"Were you..." Ann paused, startled at the faint, barely audible rasp of her own voice, even though the woman had just told her the cause, "The one who..." She couldn't say rescue, for some reason the words caught in her throat.  
  
The woman simply gave a brief nod as she stepped behind a tall screen behind the desk. She looked at Ann thoughtfully over the top of it as she removed her vest, slinging it over the screen. "You were a prisoner on the Drowned Lady?"  
  
"What?” Ann barely heard the question, distracted by the woman pulling the shirt over her head and adding it to the vest. Her bare shoulders were tan and strong. Ann felt her gaze fixed upon them, she knew she was staring but she couldn’t help it.

The woman made an impatient gesture. "The ship we found you aboard. That was its name." She ducked out of sight for a moment and Ann heard the sound of a chest opening and banging shut again.  
  
"Oh, yes." She nodded, and then regretted that too. She sat still, hands on her throat. It felt as though it would ache forever.  
  
“Were they intending to ransom you or what?” The pirate reappeared, drawing a fresh shirt down over herself.  
  
“No.”  
  
The pirate looked up sharply at that, studying her. “That seems unlikely.” She pulled on her breeches and stepped out from behind the screen.  
  
Ann huddled in the bed, drawing her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. “I only know what they told me. And they told me they had no intention of ransoming me. That I wasn’t worth it and so…” She caught herself, cutting the words off then, telling herself it wasn't true. It didn’t matter what pirates though. But then it wasn’t only pirates who had told her such things.  
  
“And so?”  
  
“So…Nothing. I don’t know why they didn’t ransom me.” She bit her lip to keep it from trembling, the tightness in her chest from telling the lie drawing tighter and tighter. How could she say that it made no difference whether she was ransomed or not. The deed was done. She was tainted. It had only been the captain, but that the crew had made bets on who would get her next once the captain was finished with her.  
  
And yet, how was she to explain that it hardly mattered what the man aboard the ship had done? She was already doomed, had been a long time ago. That it wasn't the first time a man had told her she was tainted, and it mattered little what happened to her next. How was she to make this unknown woman, this pirate, understand? It seemed an impossible feat, so she remained silent.  
  
The woman leaned forward in her seat, her fingers interlocked. “That’s all? Are you sure there’s nothing you’ve missed?”  
  
Ann swallowed over the tight lump in her throat. “I’m sure.”

She stared down at her knees, willing the tears away. She didn't want to cry in front of this woman. It seemed a feeble thing to do. She was aware suddenly that she wasn't wearing her dress anymore, just a thin linen shift.  
  
"Who...were you the one who undressed me?" Ann asked abruptly.  
  
"Yes." The pirate said awkwardly. "Your clothes were soaked through."

"Thank you." Ann said at last.  
  
"Think nothing of it." The pirate cleared her throat. "How long were you aboard their ship?"  
  
Ann swallowed. "About...a fortnight, I believe. I'm not sure." The days had blurred after a while. The hold was dark and foul. She had only been allowed above deck for the times she had been taken to the captain's cabin. There had been no way to judge time in that room, and she had only been aware of how slowly it seemed to pass while he moved upon her.  
  
She swallowed tightly again, wincing again at the pain, as she looked around. This room was a much nicer cabin than the cabin aboard the other ship. There were bookshelves lining the walls, and a globe in the corner next to a map stand. The sheets beneath her were fine and the blankets comfortable.  
  
"This is your cabin? Your ship?"  
  
The dark-haired woman nodded. "Yes." She paused and, "I'm Captain Jack Lister. This is my ship, the Dauntless."   
  
She returned to her desk and glanced down again at the papers in front of her and then back up at Ann as though she were trying to puzzle something out. It was unsettling having her gaze upon her, and Ann looked away quickly.

Yet as soon as the pirate looked back at the desk, Ann stole another glance. The woman was not pretty, not by society's standards at any rate, but she had a way about her that captured your attention, the very curve of her jaw and the manner in which she held herself was striking.  
  
Lister looked up as though she felt Ann's gaze upon her. Ann looked away again quickly, blushing.  
  
"Where were you going when they captured your ship?"  
  
"New Providence Island. I have a sister there, in Charles-Town. She’s expecting me.”   
  
Lister nodded, tapping her fingers upon the desk, still gazing at the papers in front of her. "And would she pay for your return, your sister?"  
  
Ann licked her lips. "Um, I'm not...sure." Her hands twisted in her lap. The pirates had said her sister wouldn't. They'd said that her aunt and uncle would be glad to be rid of her. And Ann had been unable to deny that for she knew it to be the truth.   
  
But it was her fortune. Her money. Surely...  
  
"My sister doesn't have the money to pay my ransom." She said at last. "But I can ransom myself. If you take me to her."  
  
Now she had the pirate's attention. Lister's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean you could ransom yourself?"  
  
"I...own an estate in England. I am the sole heiress to my father's fortune." Surely that would mean something to the woman. _Lister._ Ann thought, and then for some reason, she thought, intimate as it was, _Jack. _  
  
"And yet they weren't going to ransom you.” Lister mused, stroking her jaw thoughtfully. “It seems most curious.”  
  
"I know they told me as much, but perhaps they lied.” Ann shifted helplessly. “Perhaps they were going to ransom me.” Perhaps they had only intended to make her feel helpless and abandoned. If so, they had succeeded.   
  
"It's in their log." Lister muttered.  
  
"May I see it?"  
  
"No."  
  
The refusal was so swift, Ann was startled. "Why not?"  
  
"Because it has other information that is not pertinent to you." The pirate’s words were sharp and then she caught herself. "Suffice to say, they held no plans to ransom you and as such, I find it doubtful that you could pay a ransom yourself."  
  
"But if you take me there to the island, and I could send word to England." Ann sat up eagerly. Her hair had come partially loose from her braid, and she brushed it back impatiently, hardly caring what she looked like.  
  
"I could send word just as easily to England myself." Lister shrugged. "And hear myself whether or not you're worth a fortune."' The words weren't quite a sneer.  
  
Ann drew herself up. "I never said I was worth a fortune, merely that I possessed one." She paused and then, "And if you write to my family in England, they will most certainly tell you a falsehood. I must be reunited with my sister if you're to have any hope of getting any sort of payment in return."  
  
"What makes you think I even wish to ransom you?"  
  
"You're a pirate aren't you?"  
  
There was the oddest expression on Lister's face as she stared at Ann, almost as though she were struggling not to laugh.  
  
At last Lister nodded. "Very well. I'll deliver you to your sister in Charles-Town." She rose to her feet. "For the remainder of the voyage you will remain in my cabin."  
  
"Here?" Ann murmured. For the first time she became aware that she was sitting in the pirate's bed. It was a strangely intimate realization. She released the sheets she had been clutching in her nervousness. “Where will you sleep?"  
  
Lister looked at her sharply. "I'll have a hammock brought in." She paused as though she were about to say something else and then cut herself off. “I have business up on deck.” She said gruffly and went out. 

The door closed behind her, and then there came the familiar sound of a key turning, locking Ann in . 

* * *

  
  
  
_July 8 - 1717- Captain's Log_  
  
_There was a girl aboard The Drowned Lady when we boarded her, and now she’s here aboard my ship. I don't know what to make of her. She appears to be a timid thing one moment and then in the next moment she'll display a surprising show of strong-willed stubbornness._  
  
_ She sleeps fitfully at night, murmuring in her sleep. She dreams of horrors I do not know. How many of them were visited upon her aboard that ship... and yet she acts as though it were nothing at all. Instead the mere notion of being returned to England's shores seems to terrify her more than the memory of being captured by pirates._  
  
_ Technically she is still captured by pirates. I forget myself sometimes. I still find it amusing, the idea that I too am a pirate now, outcast by the society that I never belonged to. Never have I felt so free as when I stand upon this deck and feel the wind in my hair. I shall never go back to England, not to be bound and constrained by that same wretched society once more._  
  
_ The women in Tortuga or Nassau do not look like her. Nor do they look at me with such a clear expression or discerning eyes. She seems so young, and yet she knows of life's hardships. I can tell._  
  
_ It would be folly to pay court to her, when I have promised to return her safely to her sister on New Providence Island. I have already given the crew stern instructions to treat her with the utmost of respect. They will follow my orders; they remember all too well what happened to that fool Hughes. No man will ever touch a woman aboard my ship or under my care with such disrespect ever again. _  
  
_ But it would be foolish to disregard my own counsel. I should stay away from her._  
  
_ And yet she is already sleeping in my bed. I had Samuel bring in a hammock and hang it by the window. It's comfortable enough. I've certainly slept in worse. But still the very proximity of her presence is enough to keep me awake at night. I pretend to read, and often I succeed for a while. But inevitably my gaze is drawn back to that slight figure curled up beneath the blankets, listening to the soft sounds she makes in her sleep._

  
Jack sighed and put down her quill. It had been two days since they had taken the Drowned Lady.

She had made that promise to the girl rashly and regretted it at once. But it was her ship, damnit. She could do what she liked. And if she liked to take a gamble with a potential ransom and see if it paid off, that was her prerogative. 

And besides, with what she had learned in the Drowned Lady's log…well, it would hardly make things worse for the girl if the truth were kept from her a while longer.

* * *

  
  
"What are we supposed to do with her?" Samuel had demanded when she told him they were keeping the girl with them for now.   
  
"We'll return her to her sister in Charles-Town like I've explained." Jack snapped. "We can hardly say it's not on our way." They were making for Tortuga first, for supplies, and then swinging around to Nassau because she owed a debt to a captain there, before they made for open water again.  
  
"No ransom..." Samuel shrugged. "What will we tell the men?"  
  
"There will be a ransom, but it has to go through the sister." Jack rested her hands on her desk, to keep herself from reaching for the man and strangling him. If she had to explain this one more time, she was going to punch someone. And usually her quartermaster was more reasonable than this.  
  
"And why is that exactly?" He asked curiously.  
  
"Because it's the most reliable method of procuring the ransom." Jack felt the last threads holding her patience together fraying.  
  
"Hmm." He said again.  
  
"What?" Jack snapped. "What the fuck is the problem?"  
  
"It just seems a mite odd." Samuel started and then seeing the look in her eye, cut himself off. "But I suppose you'll sort it out right enough, captain."  
  
"Why don't you let me worry about the ransom, and you worry about making sure the men behave themselves while she's up on deck?" Jack said pointedly.  
  
"Yes, yes of course." Samuel hurried off.  
  
Jack poured herself a brandy and swore. Her eyes ached. Tonight...tonight she had to get more sleep, and yet it was impossible. Not with the girl, _Ann_, she thought to herself, sleeping there in her bed.

* * *

It was impossible. That first morning when Ann had sat there in the bed in her shift, her braid coming undone, her hair escaping over her shoulders.

Jack sucked in a breath as she remembered it. Christ, the sight of Ann’s shoulders alone were enough to make her blood race. She thought of how it would be to touch them, to press her lips there, tracing the curve of them with her mouth, and then down to Ann’s breasts.

There was no sound from the bed. Jack glanced over but Ann was asleep for now. Slowly, Jack’s hand slid underneath her shirt, between her legs.

She closed her eyes as she thought of it, kissing Ann until Ann was delirious with desire and begged for more, for Jack’s hands, her mouth upon her.

Jack sighed as her release swept over her like a cool tide. She wiped her hand on her hammock and reached for a cigarillo. Lighting it, she stared out the open window at the dark sea. The girl had been abducted and held captive for fuck’s sake. Kept chained in the hold by a crew of vicious filth. Whatever horrors had befallen her there, it made no difference. She wouldn’t welcome Jack’s interest just because Jack had supposedly rescued her. No, the last thing she would want now was the touch of a woman such as Jack.

* * *

  
  
Ann stared out the window, catching the breeze on her cheek. She had been aboard the ship for two days now and she still didn't know what to make of the pirate captain. Ann had never met a woman like her. She had never dreamed a woman could be a pirate for one thing, but even if Lister wasn't a pirate, she would still be extraordinary. Ann knew that much at least.  
  
She leaned her head against the wooden frame, sighing a little. As relieved as she was to no longer be aboard The Drowned Lady (horrid name for a ship, even a pirate ship), there was still something yearning inside her, something within her longing for something, well, _more._  
  
Being allowed up on deck was marvelous after being kept in the hold for the last few weeks, but even this, left in peace and quiet in the captain’s cabin was bliss itself. Ann wasn’t entirely sure how long it had been allowed to open a window whenever she liked and let the sea spray revive her. She knew that the captain had been in no particular hurry to gain his payment, even though that was his goal, supposedly. He had intended to sell her. He had told her that one night after he'd finished and rolled off her.

"Someone will pay good money for you." His broad, calloused hand had squeezed her breast, caring little for the way she half turned away from him, facing the wall.

He had taken his time with the voyage, even once docking in a port at some island, where Ann could hear the raucous shouts of revelry from the shore. The crew had gone ashore for their leave. But not the captain.

No, he had taken his leave in his cabin, with Ann.  
  
She pressed her hands against the wooden ledge tightly. It was over now. He was dead, nothing but blood and bones, not even buried but tossed to the ocean like the offal he was. For some reason she didn’t like the thought of him being in the sea, though not for his sake. The sea deserved better, she thought. Honorable men, and women. She was sure sometimes women died at sea too.   
  
Besides, the captain didn’t matter. Not really. He had been terrible, yes, but she hadn’t really felt it. She had gone somewhere inside herself, whenever he touched her, somewhere not only could he not go, but he had no idea even existed. Somewhere distant and apart from the world here.  
  
She would return later, aware of what he had done, aware there was pain and that she should feel tainted somehow. But mostly she felt weariness at men’s repetitive lusts, and she simply longed for an end of it. There seemed to be no end to it. That was all she wanted, really. For it to come to a blessed end.  
  
The door opened and Ann looked up quickly.

The pirate captain, _Jack,_ she reminded herself, the woman had told her to call her Jack, stood there. She glanced at Ann and then went over to her desk.

Ann bit her lip and looked down at her hands. She wanted desperately to speak with the woman, and to learn more about her, but she didn’t know how to say it without sounding like a fool.

* * *

  
  
Finding the girl sitting alone at the window, Jack paused. She had been doing her best to stay out of the cabin, away from the girl as much as possible, partly because of her own undeniable attraction to her, but also regarding what Jack had learned in the ledger of the Drowned Lady.

Should she tell her? Jack wondered. Or would it be too cruel? She would prefer to know the truth herself, but she wasn’t like other people.

Ann looked up again, catching her eye.

“Would you like to come to dinner?” Jack blurted out. She had to say something, damnit.

Ann started at her. “What?”

“Here, in my cabin, tonight?” It sounded awkward when she said it like that. She pressed on. “To celebrate your…imminent return to England, once you’re reunited with your sister.”

There was a strange expression on Ann’s face, but she nodded.

“Yes, I would like that.”

"I’ll…” Jack paused. “There’s a trunk in the hold. I’ll have it brought it up so you can have something to wear.” She went out again before she could say something else to make a fool of herself.

* * *

  
  
Ann smoothed her hands over the dress, trying to breathe. It felt strange to be dressed in civilized clothes again. She wasn’t sure if she liked it. The dresses were so heavy. As embarrassing and humiliating as it had been to be held captive, the last few where days where she had just worn her shift around the cabin had been freeing somehow. She thought she had caught Jack eyeing her once or twice and unlike the interest from her male captors, it didn’t bother her.

Of course, there was also the part where it was hard to think of Jack as her captor. She looked at herself in the mirror and wished she weren’t so pale. She liked being at sea for the most part and she fully intended to take her walks on the deck once more before she was reunited with her sister in Charles-Town and had to decide what to do next.

This voyage had been intended to be a visit only, but she was determined not to be sent back to England at all cost. If her sister wouldn’t help her, or let her stay, then she would simply make a home for herself. She would miss some things of England, but she wouldn’t miss the restraints, the cloying morality, her family trying to keep her firmly under their thumb, not caring at all about what she desired.

She took a final look at herself in the mirror and decided she would do. Besides, she was aboard a pirate ship, about to dine with a pirate captain. She could hardly be expected to be up to London’s standards. The thought made Ann giggle to herself.  


* * *

It was a surprisingly pleasant evening. Ann wasn’t sure what she had expected, but there was fresh fish and salted pork and sharp cheese accompanied by a bottle of dry red wine. Jack was a lively conversationalist, clearly delighting in making her laugh. As for Ann she was captivated, hanging on Jack’s every word, asking questions and forgetting to eat, so engrossed in the answers. She wanted to know everything about Jack, everything about her life, all her adventures so far.

“However did you come to be a pirate?” She blurted out, unable to stop the question.

“Quite simple.” Jack shrugged. “I was never meant for a life of sitting in a drawing room with embroidery and tea parties.” She took a sip of wine. “I ran away to sea when I was twenty and never looked back.”

“Do you ever miss it? Having a home?”

Jack paused. “No…not what passes for a home in English society. I have no desire to be married off to a man who thinks it’s his god given right to attempt to master me.” Her lip curled as she took another sip of wine.

Ann felt her cheeks heat, and gazed down at her plate. If Jack knew the truth about her…how easily she had surrendered, how easily she had obeyed, the pirate would be disgusted with her.

“Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer us to get in touch with your family in England?” Jack asked abruptly. “Nassau is not the sort of place a well-bred young woman usually cares to find herself in.”

“Quite sure.” Ann said firmly. Her hand trembled faintly but she clutched the glass resolutely and finished her wine. She licked her lips and looked across the table at Jack.

Jack lifted the bottle in her direction. “Another glass?”

“Please.”

Ann watched as she rose and came over to fill her glass. Jack paused, gazing down at her, and for a moment Ann thought her gaze had dropped to the front of Ann’s bodice.

She blushed again, as she took the wine. The thought of Jack admiring her breasts was quite simply unbearably arousing. She tried to think of anything else than the pirate undoing her dress and pressing her mouth to Ann’s nipples. She had no right to such fantasies. Any well-bred woman would have no idea about such tawdry desire, and she only knew such things because of the shame visited upon her, and the sinful lusts of her own mind.  
  
Ann cleared her throat. “I should probably turn in. It’s been a long day.”

“Of course. You’re right.” Jack said.

* * *

Still she smoked her usual cigarillo before dousing the lantern. Ann had already shed her dress and crawled under the coverlet in her shift once more. She lay there in the shadows, watching Jack strip down to her shirt and then climb in the hammock.

Ann wished fervently that just once Jack would choose to sleep beside her. Surely it would be far more comfortable to sleep in the bed instead of that hammock. But she couldn’t bring herself to voice the invitation aloud, and at last she fell into a fitful sleep.

* * *

_His hands were cold, disturbingly so. She squirmed away from them, hating the way they followed her, playing over her skirts, stroking down her leg._

_She had been trying to finish the sketch for nearly an hour when he came in and sat beside her on the loveseat. _

_“Hold still.” His breath curled around her ear, making her shiver. “Focus on your sketch. My wife will be so disappointed if it isn't finished today."_

_"I’m trying.” She whispered. _

_His fingers slid up her ankle and Ann repressed a shudder. Her vision blurred as she looked at the paper before her. It was impossible to focus. His fingers slid higher, toying with her, intruding further and further._

_Ann looked longingly to the door. “Shouldn’t we be going in to tea?”_

_“Not just yet.” His lips touched her hair, his other hand, brushing along the bare skin at her back._

_Ann licked her lips, unable to move. It was impossible to escape, impossible to think. She was frozen in place as his fingers moved higher, invading intimately places he never should have known. _

* * *

  
The girl kept having nightmares. This time Jack leaned in and squeezed her shoulder. "Ann. It's just a dream, come on." It felt strange to say her name, but she hoped it would help free the girl from the depths of her nightmare. "Ann."  
  
Ann woke with a gasp, clutching tightly at her hand. Her breath came in thick gulps as she sat up. Her breath came in quick short pants as she tried to calm down.

“I…”

“It’s all right.” Jack soothed her. “It’s all right.”

“He was there.” Ann gasped, clutching the blanket with her other hand, wrapping herself in tightly. “He was pressing on me, and I, I couldn’t get free.”  
  
She still hadn't let go of Jack's hand, so Jack stayed on the bed beside her, stroking her back and trying to murmur soothing things such as she vaguely remembered her nurse telling her when she was small.

At last Ann’s sobs subsided faintly and she settled down under the covers once more.  
  
"Could you stay with me here..." Ann looked up at her, her tears still drying upon her cheeks. "I think it would help."  
  
Jack cleared her throat. "Well, if you want that." She settled down alongside Ann, watching her try to calm her breathing still further.  
  
"Could you...could you put your arm around me?"  
  
The request was very quiet. Jack thought she imagined it for a moment, but then she knew she hadn't.  
  
Tentatively she placed an arm around Ann's waist. Ann immediately placed hers over it, drawing her close. Her breath calmed and she nestled down against the pillows.

Jack held her like that, waiting as Ann slowly returned to sleep. No, she couldn’t tell Ann about the ledger. It was hard enough to be haunted by the past as Ann was. There was no need to add fresh pain to to the girl's wounds. Jack stroked her hair gently and lay there, listening to the sound of her breathing. For the first time, Ann slept peacefully through the night in Jack’s embrace.


	2. Chapter 2

Even after the first night that Ann had slept so peacefully in her arms, she remained semi-fearful, mistrustful of her new surroundings. During the next morning as Jack dressed, Ann sat on the edge of the bed and kept looking as though she were about to speak and then keeping quiet.

“What is it?” Jack finally asked impatiently.

“Nothing.” Ann wouldn’t meet her gaze.

“Well, clearly it’s something.” Jack leaned back in her chair, one boot on, one boot off. Damnit, this nonsense was part of the reason she became a pirate in the first place. To avoid devastatingly dull small talk and awkward silences. Small talk was not something she would attribute to Ann, but the awkward silences were in unfortunate abundance. 

“It’s just…” The girl began. “Am I truly allowed to go up on deck and not just be confined to the cabin?” Her eyes were so wide and hopeful and yet she seemed as though she were certain her hopes were about to be dashed. That Jack would deny her this simply because she could.

“Yes, of course.” Jack sounded irritable to her own ears, and she wished she could take it back. It wasn't Ann's fault. None of this was Ann's fault.

"The...captain of the other ship, he kept me in the hold.” Ann said after a moment. “That’s why I asked…I didn’t want to intrude up on deck…if I wasn’t wanted.” She seemed to be thinking of something else, her mind a hundred miles away.

"It's quite all right." Jack cleared her throat awkwardly, trying to think of something reassuring to say. “Soon enough you’ll be back with your family.” It wasn’t her fault the girl had been treated poorly, still she felt a surge of protectiveness coupled with rage. The crew of the Drowned Lady was were animals. Her own crew would never treat Ann like that.

“I would rather not.” Ann said very quietly. 

For a moment Jack thought she had misheard her. “What?”

“I have no desire to return to my family.”

“Ah...” Jack paused. Was now the moment to reveal what she had learned the first evening she had gone through the captain’s log? That the girl’s family had paid for her to be abducted with the proviso that she not be ransomed, and simply allowed to disappear at sea? No, she couldn't do it. It was far too cruel.

She cleared her throat again, fiddling with her boot. She looked back up to see the Ann studying her. “What?”

“You’re truly different than the other pirates I’ve encountered.”

Jack smiled wryly. “Is it because I’m a woman or simply because I do not treat you as a an inferior.”

“Both, probably.” Ann said after a moment’s consideration. “I’ve certainly never met a woman like you before.” She didn't sound horrified, unlike some other women Jack had met. In fact, she sounded intrigued. It was rather refreshing.

Jack chuckled. “It doesn’t surprise me. I happen to be one of a kind.”

To her surprise Ann smiled at her. It transformed her shy little face into a true beauty. Jack stared at her for a moment and then did her best to busy herself with pulling her other boot on.

“I'm sorry," Ann started, "I didn’t mean, I didn’t want to offend you.”

“You didn’t.” Jack said hastily. It certainly didn’t matter what the girl thought. She stood up once she had her boot on. "I'll see you up on deck." She turned and went away out of the cabin as quickly as possible.  


* * *

Once up on deck, Jack breathed a little easier, though the matter of the ledger returned to trouble her. Should she tell her the truth? That her family who should have her best interests at heart were revealed to be ruthless monsters instead?

Jack had read the log twice, poring over the particular entries relating to Ann. The captain, one Joseph Mantle had kept a rigorous log and was not above gloating over his treasure and boasting of his prizes. Ann Walker, was one such prize in his mind.

_She is a rare one, troublesome little creature that she is. It’s no wonder her family wants her gone. Refusing to marry the man they had chosen for her unlike a proper daughter. Refusing to give in, no matter how much they tried persuade and cajole her. Foolish little child. In the though, she’s worth every pound to take her off their hands. Her skin is like satin. Never fucked someone as fine as her before but she’ll be a proper little trollop by the time I’m done with her. Should I sell her to a brothel in Tortuga? She would fetch a pretty penny, it's true. Or keep her for myself? I wonder though, the rest of the crew would want a piece of her if I did that. How much trouble would she be worth in the end?_  


Jack poured herself a brandy and leaned back in a chair, reflecting on the entry and the scoundrel of a man who wrote it. She took great satisfaction in that he would never stick his prick in anyone ever again.

She cast her mind back to the secret revealed in that entry. What a horrifying thing for Ann’s family to do. How appalling an action it was. She couldn’t keep wondering about the reason behind her being taken. Why would someone do this? Was it solely to gain control of her money? That certainly would have been more than reason enough by all accounts, especially if the aunt and uncle’s attempts had been thwarted by her refusal to marry the husband they selected for her? Or was there something more? 

As the days passed, and the longer Jack went without telling Ann the truth of the ledger, the more she dreaded the thought of telling her. The more she grew to know the younger woman, the more Jack wished not to hurt her. It was a soft, unnecessary emotion and she tried to keep it from growing within herself, but Ann kept slipping past her defenses.  


* * *

Dinner with the two of them in the captain's cabin became a regular event. Jack found herself wanting to distract Ann, to make her time aboard the Dauntless as pleasant as possible after her ordeal. The food was often repetitive, but they still had fresh fruit from their last haul and she delighted in peeling an orange for Ann and offering her the sections. Her gaze lingered upon the curve of Ann's mouth as she put them to her lips, and Jack imagined tasting the sweet citrus upon her tongue.

Ann took daily walks upon the deck and the fresh sea air and sunshine were doing her good. The pallor had faded from her skin and brought forth the delightful freckles that were scattered upon her nose and cheeks. Freckles that distracted Jack to no end.

Ann, herself, distracted Jack no end, even if she didn’t want to admit it.

She admitted it as much in her own log, because there she could confess all the thoughts within her.

_I dream of her when I have no right to do so. She is not for me, I tell myself, that and yet I still dream of her. I cannot help it._

_She should be untouchable like a rose guarded by thorns, and yet I've seen her, I've held her in my arms. She's a fierce thing, similar to a small animal once roused from its burrow, and yet will not be cowed again. Beyond that, her curiosity is never ending. I am teaching her how to tie knots and to chart our course upon a map. Things she would never need to know in London, but things she wants to learn now, things she wants to do and I am happy to teach her, to expand her horizons._

_Every night I let her fall asleep alone and every night she wakes in terror. As soon as I go to her, she falls back asleep, peaceful as a newborn babe, or so the silly expression goes. Obviously I know very little of babies. But I do know true peace when I see it, and she is peaceful in my arms. It is the reason I allow myself to hold her through the nigh._

Personally Ann found her time aboard the pirate ship positively thrilling. The crew were civil, though quiet enough for the most part. They glanced at her when she went up on deck, but it was more with curiosity than anything else. She walked the deck freely and often went all the way up to the prow where she stood letting the wind blow through her and the sun alight upon her upturned face. It was glorious and secretly she wished it never had to end, though she never let herself express such a thought aloud.

At the end of the day, she would tidy herself and coil her braid back atop her hair in a vague attempt at civility. It wouldn't do to forget every tenet of civilized society while she was here, even if she was starting to think they were less and less important with every day that passed.

But one evening over a brandy, Jack leaned her elbow upon the table, gazing at her thoughtfully.

"What is it?" Ann asked. She had grown bolder over the last few days. Whether it was due to being surrounded by pirates, or simply Jack, she wasn't sure. Nor did she particularly care. She liked being bold. She liked having freedom to ask questions without thought of reprimand or censure. he liked being here in this room cabin with Jack across the table from her.

"Why do you bother with doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"That." Jack gestured. "With your hair."

"It's because I'm supposed to, I suppose." Ann took a sip of brandy. "Habit."

"It looks better down." Jack murmured softly.

Ann looked at her thoughtfully. "Does it?"

"That's just my opinion." Jack said quickly. "And I...what do I know?" She gestured to herself, her waistcoat and breeches, her long braid of dark hair. There was still dirt on her knuckles from earlier in the day, even though she had washed before dinner. She rubbed absently at her forefinger with her thumb as she gazed at Ann.

"I think you look very well." Ann said. And then she reached up and removed the pin holding her coil of braided hair atop her head. It tumbled down over her shoulder and she felt a wild thrill of satisfaction at the expression on Jack's face. Slowly she started undoing the braid, letting her hair fall loose over her shoulder. It felt distinctly intimate and she kept her gaze on her hair as her fingers worked the braid undone.

Jack opened her mouth to say something and then shut it again abruptly. She poured herself more brandy and then leaned across the table to fill Ann's glass as well.

"Are you always so impulsive?"

"Not always." Ann took another sip of brandy and let her waves of hair fall free. "It rather depends on the company I suppose."

Jack smiled.  


* * *

Every night, Ann would lie in the captain's bed and wish that Jack would simply come to her of her own accord, knowing she couldn’t ask her to. Not yet. And every night she would fall into a fitful sleep, only to be woken with her heart pounding in her chest and sweat running down her back. The voices from her dreams lingered, telling her all the nightmares were yet to come. She wasn't free of them; she would never be free of them, never never never. 

And then Jack would come to her, put her arms around her and her heart would calm and her body still until she could sleep again. It was the sweetest torment Ann had ever known. For having Jack so close, to be actually touching her, but not in the intimate manner that she dreamed of, it was agonizing. 

Every morning Ann would wake alone for Jack would have started the day already. She would lie there a moment longer, breathing in the scent of Jack's pillows, before rising with a sigh. 

* * *

The next day when Ann was getting dressed, she explored deeper inside the chest of clothes that Jack had brought her where she discovered a pair of breeches and a shirt. They were so tempting, at last she couldn’t resist and pulled them on over her shift, tucking the shift into the breeches. She braided her hair and looked at herself in the mirror. Not bad to her way of thinking. She went barefoot as she had been because there was no point in having shoes and stockings on aboard the ship. Besides she liked the feel of the wooden planks beneath her feet as she roamed the deck.

* * *

"Good lord." Jack murmured,

In boys’ clothes, for that's what they were, her slender frame would have swum in men's clothing, Ann was positively fetching. There was no other word for it. Fetching as hell.

Jack cleared her throat and took a step towards her. Ann had climbed up on the railing and held onto the rope, gazing up at the crow's nest with a thoughtful look. A look that promised trouble if Jack knew anything about it.

She looked back over her shoulder at Jack and grinned. "Would it be possible to climb up there?"

Jack followed the direction of her gaze, then looked at her speculatively. "You want to climb up into the crow's nest?"

"Yes!"

"I shouldn't let you. It's dangerous," Jack started to object, but Ann turned her pleading eyes upon her and she surrendered grudgingly. "All right, but you have to tie a rope around your waist, and I'll be close behind just in case."

"In case..." Ann murmured curiously.

"In case you fall." Jack said curtly.

"Ah well, then you'll just have to catch me." Ann said blithely.

"I'm not a magician you know."

"Aren't you?" Ann smiled. She had been asking the quartermaster, Mr. Samuel, about Jack, and learning all sorts of interesting tales. She told Jack as much once they were up in the crow's nest and Jack dismissed it with a wave of her hand.

"You can't listen to Samuel. He'll say anything to enhance the ship's reputation, and a captain's reputation is tied to their ship unfortunately.” She turned her head and looked out over the waves.

"That doesn't seem very reliable in a ship's quartermaster." Ann's tone was innocence itself, but there was mischief in her eyes.

Jack chuckled and looked out at the sea once more. It was pleasant sitting up here in the open air under the wide sky, yet away from the crew. She was comfortably aware of Ann's legs pressed against hers in the tight quarters of the crow’s nest. There was a little room to move away if Ann had desired that, but she hadn’t drawn away.

"And what of the ladies?" Ann asked after a little while.

"Ladies?" Jack glanced back at her and then she couldn’t look away.

"They say, Captain Jack has quite the reputation with the ladies all along the Spanish Main." She leaned closer, her eyes bright with anticipation and her lips so close and inviting.

"I suppose," Jack said, her eyes still upon Ann's lips, "you'd have to ask them."

"And if I were to do so," Ann murmured, leaning closer, "What would they say?"

"Well," Jack cleared her throat, "I suppose if they being were honest, they would say that they had never left the bed of Captain Jack unsatisfied."

They were so close now that their faces were nearly together. Ann licked her lips, hardly daring to breathe as she watched the way Jack's gaze followed the intimate motion of her tongue. Her heart beat as wild as the waves in a storm. If she leaned just a fraction closer, her mouth would touch Jack's. If Jack moved...if she only dared...if only.

"Sails." Jack muttered, her gaze moving past Ann's shoulder to the horizon.

"What?"

"There are sails fast approaching us." Jack pulled her spyglass from her pocket and examined the ship. Her jaw tightened and she reached for the rope, shoving the spyglass in her pocket.

"What is it?"

"We have to get down now." She ordered. "Start climbing."

Ann obeyed, watching her as she climbed down to the deck. Jack stood there a moment longer, her eyes on the ship approaching over the waves and then she followed Ann sharply down the rigging.

"Every man up on deck!" She ordered. "Ready for cannon-fire." She whirled and found Ann. "Get down to the cabin."

"And what then?" Ann cried out. Her heart was pounding now for an entirely different reason. The sails looming on the horizon were sending her into a frenzy of fear. How could this be happening again? Would she never be free?

"Stay there."

"Is that all? I could..." She didn't know what she could do, but the thought of being banished below deck was terrifying.

"Please, do as I say." Jack's tone was fierce. She had no time to explain why this was necessary, yet she knew that this must be bringing back horrible memories for Ann. "Just go."

Ann fled the deck, disappearing down the stairs.

Jack turned and faced the horizon, her gaze fixed upon the ship, knuckles white against the railing. This time she wouldn't lose him. This time she would gut the son of a bitch and make him pay in blood.  


* * *

No, no, this wasn't happening. Ann paced the cabin. The roar of cannon fire grew louder and she pressed her hands to her ears, trying to drown it out. Her heart thundered in her chest, her breath came faster and faster. She felt as though she were drowning even though she was safely locked away in the cabin.

The lock was on her side now; she was the one who had bolted it, and yet all she could think was_, I am locked in again. I am a prisoner. I am trapped. _

She paced the length of the cabin, her thoughts running the gamut of wild and fearful to hopeful and back again. No, she wasn't a prisoner yet. But she would be if the pirates took the ship from Jack and her crew. No, they wouldn't do that. They couldn't...and yet what if they did?

She couldn’t live through that again. She couldn’t. She would fight and die before that happened. This time she would throw herself into the sea before she let them take her. 

She remembered that Jack kept a spare pistol in the drawer of her desk and raced for it. There it lay in the drawer as she remembered. Ann drew it out with steady fingers. It was heavy in her palm but she took a deep breath and checked to make sure it was loaded. Once she knew it was, she faced the door, pistol at the ready. She had survived being a prisoner once. She would not be taken captive again.

It seemed hours before the cannons stopped. Boots sounded on the stairs. It felt like a nightmare, the same nightmare happening again, only this time she wasn't helpless. Ann stood there with the pistol pointed shakily at the door. She could do this. She _would_ do this if necessary. She would fire if she had to. She could kill a man. 

* * *

Something thumped against the door and she heard the muffled sound of someone swearing.

"It's me." Jack called out. 

Ann flew across the room to unbolt the door, still clutching the pistol to her chest.

"Christ, what a fucking mess." Jack strode into the cabin and then stopped at the sight of her. "Are you all right?"

"Are you?" Ann demanded. There was blood running down Jack's sleeve, as well as blood on her forehead. Her eyes were wild, and her shirt hung half torn open under her coat. Ann's heart caught in her throat. If Jack were hurt...

"It's just a scratch." Jack said dismissively. "Are you going to lower that pistol?"

Ann finally lowered it, easing her finger off the trigger. She took a deep breath. "Is it all right? The ship? What happened?”

"The bastard fled." Jack stalked over to her desk. Wincing, she removed her coat and flung it aside.

"You _are_ hurt." Ann set the pistol down, trying to calm her trembling fingers. The enemy ship was gone. There was no reason for her to be afraid any more and yet her heart was still pounding loudly as ever.

"The bullet grazed my arm. It's nothing." She eased the waistcoat off as well and started pulling at her shirt.

"Let me help." Ann came over to her, needing to do something, anything, to calm her mind.

Slowly Jack let her help take the shirt from her shoulders, leaving her in her undershirt. The bullet had nicked her shoulder, leaving a gash, bleeding down her arm. Ann looked at it in dismay.

"I'm hardly an invalid."

"You're wounded." Ann said firmly. "Sit down.”

Bemused, Jack obeyed. She watched as Ann fetched a basin of water and a clean cloth from the bureau and brought them over to her.

"What exactly happened with the ship?" Ann asked, dipping the cloth in the bath and starting to tend the wound. Perhaps it should have been enough that it was gone, but she wanted to know as much as she could. 

"They ran. He always was a coward, damn the man." She swore, gritting her teeth as Ann washed the wound.

"This man was a particular enemy?" She dabbed at Jack's wound gently, drying it carefully before setting the cloth aside. Next she reached for the bandage and set it carefully to cover the wound, before tying the bandage around Jack's shoulder.

"He wounded my cabin boy." Jack said tersely. "Injured his leg so badly it had to be cut off. I had to put the boy ashore. He lives in my house in Nassau." She was babbling now, but Ann's proximity was affecting her far more than the wound, if she were honest. Her fingers still lingered upon the bandage.

"You have a house." Ann looked at her in surprise. "On the island?" It wasn’t something she'd have thought Jack would have, but now she wondered what it was like, trying to picture it. What sort of home did Jack have for herself, away from the sea?

"Can't sail all the time." Jack shifted in her sea, wincing at her shoulder. "In the winter particular, it's far more pleasant to stay in a warm..." She drifted off, gazing at Ann's upturned face.

Ann leaned in closer and Jack drew a sharp breath.

"You could have died." Ann bit her lip, looking down at the bandaged wound with tender eyes.

"I was barely in danger." Jack started and then she looked at her, really looked at her, seeing the earnest concern on Ann's face. "Would that really have bothered you?"

"Yes, of course." Ann immediately looked up again. Their eyes locked and this time there was no ship to interrupt them, no sails approaching to hinder them. Neither of them looked away and Ann leaned in, closing the distance between them as she softly kissed Jack's lips.

It was tentative at first as Ann sought for reassurance there and then Jack responded immediately, kissing her back, reaching for her, cupping her head as her tongue sought Ann’s in return.

Tumbling backward upon the bed, Ann drew back for a moment in concern. "Your wound?"

"Sod my wound." Jack said hoarsely, reaching for her again.

"Tell me if it hurts." Ann commanded and Jack nodded wordlessly.

She didn't care if it hurt. Nothing hurt, nothing mattered but the blood racing in her veins and the way Ann's lips felt on hers.

She raised her palm to cup Ann's breast through her shirt, marveling that she could do so. Ann uttered a little moan of pleasure in return and Jack leaned in to mouth at her neck. Such soft perfect skin, like a world made new. She kissed Ann's shoulder and then lower, pressing a kiss between her soft breasts.

* * *  


Ann fumbled with her shirt, pulling it free from her breeches, and shoving them down. She pressed Jack back against the bed, straddling her. Pressing against her, she kissed Jack hungrily.

She tried to be mindful of Jack's wound, but it was all too easy to get swept up in the feeling of bliss as she touched her. Simply having the freedom to touch Jack was sheer heaven, a blasphemy that rippled through her with delight. She pulled Jack's shirt up, letting her fingertip run over the woman's muscled stomach. 

Jack sucked in a tight breath as Ann leaned forward, letting her palm splay over her belly. 

"Does your wound hurt?" Ann asked immediately.

"It's not pain that keeps my attention so." Jack murmured. Her gaze traveled down the front of Ann's shirt, hanging open. The thin shift she wore underneath did nothing to hide the glory of her breasts.

Ann followed the direction of her gaze and smiled. She moved closer, pressing her mound against Jack's, clothed only by the shift. Having shed her breeches to the floor. she now reached for Jack's as well, unbuttoning them and shoving them down.

Jack simply reached for her and drew her closer so they were flush against each other. Ann uttered a little moan as Jack's fingers slid down her back to cup her backside. She leaned in to kiss Ann's mouth again, reaching a hand inside her shirt to stroke her breast. 

Ann gasped, arching against her. Jack's fingers were producing the most delicious sensations, simply brushing over the curve of her breast, and touching the tip of her nipple. Ann felt herself responding as though her entire body had fallen under Jack's spell. Her nipples hardened as she leaned closer, seeking more pleasure. And there was too, the hunger welling up inside her, the way her body felt hot all over, and arousal growing between her legs.

Jack slipped her other hand between her thighs, rubbing her fingertips over Ann's soft folds. "You feel so hot," She whispered,

"I feel as though I'm on fire." Ann moaned, gripping Jack's shoulders as Jack slid one slender finger inside her. It was so very different and so very wonderful as compared to being penetrated by a man. She didn't want to think about that now, any of it, so she wrapped it up neatly and pushed it deep inside and closed the door upon it. Here in this cabin there was only Jack and herself and the shared pleasure of their bodies and souls.

Her skin grew more and more heated as Jack stroked her, nimbly working Ann's clit with her thumb. She felt flushed like she was a volcano ready to explode, and then Jack slid a second finger inside her, curling them just the right way. She added pressure to Ann's clit, and it was too much and not enough at the same time. Ann felt herself shudder, the pleasure roaring over her like a firestorm until it burned up everything within her and left her clean and new.

Afterwards, Jack laid there, trying to catch her breath and failing. Her arm throbbed faintly, but it didn't matter. She couldn't spare a thought for the wound. The girl sleeping beside her, the girl who had touched her with such passion, such desire, in her very fingertips, was a wonder to her. How was this possible? How had this happened now and here of all places? 

She should not have let that happen, Jack knew, but it was too late now. Regretting it did nothing to change the fact that it had, indeed happened.

Ann shifted slightly upon the pillow, her face turned towards the lantern light, even in sleep.

Jack gazed at her face, brushing her fingers gently over Ann's cheek. It was foolish to let herself feel anything for Ann. There was nothing to anchor them together, no reason to bind them. She couldn't steal this girl, even if Ann had already stolen her heart.

* * *

Ann woke slowly, feeling incredibly content. For once Jack still lay beside her, and she savored the warmth of her body next to her own, the press of Jack's thigh against hers. And then she turned her head and saw Jack's eyes. 

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"I shouldn't have done that." Jack murmured. She hesitated and then she brushed her lips across Ann's bare shoulder. "It was unfair...to take advantage of you in your current state. It was nothing less than that beast of a captain."

Ann pulled away, staring at her. "What are you saying?"

"It wasn't right." Jack began.

"I wanted it." Ann cried. "I wanted you. You did nothing wrong." To have Jack compare her actions with those of that vile man was nothing less than horrifying. She sat up. "You cannot compare what we did here with _that_. I won't let you." It was different in every possible way. She wouldn't stand for this. 

"Ann, I didn't mean." Jack started but Ann had already risen from the bed and started dressing furiously. 

"You have no right to decide what I want!" She cried as she pulled on the shirt, drawing it down over her head. "You cannot decide that! Only I can decide that."

It was difficult to take her seriously as she spoke through the shirt, but Jack did her best. She didn't want to anger Ann more than she had. Truly she hadn't meant it like, well, not quite like that. She knew it wasn't the same, but she still knew she should have held back.

* * *

Ann walked back and forth across the deck but it didn't do any good. As soon as Jack had left the cabin, she snuck back down and closed the door. She was tempted to bolt it, but in the end left it unlocked. 

Once in the safety of the cabin Ann went to the window seat and sank down upon it. She shook all over, but for once it was with fury and not merely fear. How dare Jack equivocate what they had done to what that vile beast had done to her. How ~ fucking ~ dare she say that. It was not the same. Not remotely the same.

Ann drew a sharp breath at the intensity of her own thoughts. She'd never even dare say the word aloud to anyone before, even in the privacy of her own thoughts but now she thought it quite violently. 

Fuck Jack if she thought it was the same. If she thought Ann didn't have the capacity to know her own mind and desires. 

Ann sat back in the window seat, gazing blankly at the sea. Her desire. It sounded so shameless to think it. But it was true, it was her desire and she did not regret it, whatever Jack felt.

Late that afternoon Jack ventured back down to the cabin and found Ann curled up in the window seat. She paused there in the doorway, just looking at her and then she went in and closed the door.

Ann didn't look up as she crossed the cabin to stand beside her. Jack knelt beside the window seat. 

"I'm sorry." She murmured. "I didn't mean it the way it sounded."

"You didn't do anything to me I didn't want." Ann said hoarsely.

"I...It wasn't fair." Jack sat back helplessly, resting her hands on her knees as she gazed up at Ann. "After what you've been through. I only mean it wasn't fair to....to..."

A hand touched her face and she looked up. 

"I wanted it. I wanted you." Ann said fiercely. "Nothing's changed."

Jack gazed at her wordlessly, letting herself lean into Ann's palm. "All right." She said softly. "All right."

* * *  


Dinner that night was quiet. It was the closest they had gotten to small talk. They were both wondering what happen next. Ann had hoped that Jack would spend the night in bed beside her, but now she wondered whether that was what Jack wanted.

After the meal Jack fiddled with her napkin, looking around the cabin before she finally looked back to Ann.

"I'll sleep beside you, if you have no objection." Jack said finally.

"I have no objection." Ann said quietly. 

Jack dimmed the lantern as Ann undressed and slipped into bed. From there, Ann watched as Jack shed her clothes behind the screen and came to bed in her nightshirt. 

Jack got into bed and drew the covers up. She turned to look at Ann, a question in her eyes.

"Would you hold me like you do?" Ann asked very softly. 

Jack nodded, letting Ann turn and lie with her back to Jack's chest as Jack slipped her arm around her.

Ann exhaled, shaking slightly and she squeezed Jack’s hand gently. 

“Would you.” Her whisper is barely audible in the dark. “Would you touch me?”

She waited breathlessly, and then finally after what seemed like an eternity Jack’s hand moved down from her waist to between her legs. It was a simple enough matter to draw Ann’s shift up over her hips, and Jack shivered wordlessly as her fingers brushed wordlessly through the soft hair between her thighs, and then the softer, heated folds of her cunt. She pressed a tentative finger against Ann’s clit and then harder, encouraged by the soft gasps Ann made in response. She stroked it for a little while, and then she pressed her palm to her, grinding it against her mound.

Ann shuddered and cried out helplessly as Jack kissed her bare shoulder in the dark. 

She fell asleep in a dreamlike state and Jack kept her close to her, holding her close through the night.

* * *

_Christ, she looks like heaven itself lying there in bed, my bed - damnit. I think back to that first morning she sat up in bed. The shift I had given her to wear (helped put upon her, truth be told. She was soaked through after falling from the plank) slipped down over one delectable shoulder, and her braid swung down the curve of that shoulder, golden and glorious._

_What have I done to cause this torment? And yet I cannot look away from her. She is perfection itself and I dream of kissing that shoulder, and marking it with my teeth, claiming her for my own. Now that I have touched her, been blessedly fortunate enough to do, I can think of little else. And yet..._

_There is little enough to hope for. I have my own quarters upon the island of course. a cottage I spend little enough time in, but there is a garden and some apple trees, and a comfortable window seat for reading where I've spent many a pleasurable afternoon while recovering from a wound._

_Could I bring her there? Would she consent to a life such as that? She swears she will not return to England voluntarily, seems vehemently set against it, and yet I know one day she must. She is not destined to fall into obscurity. She is a titled lady, with an estate and a family after all. Were she only a lord's bastard daughter I could steal her away without a fuss. As it is, I curse her fortune even as I am drawn to it. A rich enough ransom I could retire and travel solely for my own pleasure, sailing wherever I chose, without care or thought of profit._  


Jack sat back, tapping her quill against her mouth as she watched Ann dress. Ann had slept peacefully that night. And when she woke the next work Jack had hesitated only a moment before kissing her.

She looked down at the words she had written, recounting the morning so that she would not forget the trust Ann placed in her.  
  


_She trembled under my finger's exploration, but not with fear, or not exactly. "You are not afraid and yet..."_

_ "Not of you." Ann whispered._

_A smile twitched at the corner of my mouth. "Then what are you afraid for?" For something was causing the trembling._

_She looked away, her face betraying her and I caught her jaw and turned her back to look at me. Her eyes were so clear, so young, so full of yearning - it nearly took away my breath. Even after last night, and the way she had given herself over to it, a wonder to behold, there was still something holding her back._

_"That you will be disappointed." Ann murmured, her voice still little more than a whisper as though she feared the air itself would hear and disapprove._

_"How could I possibly be disappointed?" I cupped her face in my hands, stroking her delicate cheekbones with my thumbs. She shivered, still looking downward, her eyelashes framing her heart-shaped face._

_"You will be. Once you know the truth."_

_I drew back slightly. "What truth could possibly cause me to be disappointed in you?" She was the innocent here, she the prisoner who had been taken captive. I was the pirate. What she could possibly do that would make me think ill of her? _

_"The real reason my family wouldn't ransom me if you wrote to them directly is that they I think I am an abomination." Ann met my gaze at last. "The fact was it didn't matter at all that i was defiled by pirates. For I was ruined a long time ago, a taint that has never left me."_

_"How so? What do you mean?" It seemed impossible that such a fair creature as her could ever be tainted by anything and yet I could see she believed it to be true._

_Ann gulped back a sob. "Two summers ago, I was visiting a friend of mine, and her husband...he..." Tears slipped from her eyes._

_My hands clenched and I had to release her, lest I hurt her by accident. "What did he do?" My words sounded stern to my own ears and they must have seemed so to her as well for she flinched._

_I turned and went over to the cabinet to pour myself a brandy. I had need of it, and it would do no harm to let her have a moment or two to collect herself._

_"He..." She paused. "was a reverend and... after some time, he persuaded me that I had led him on and that he was required to show me the ways of the flesh were not something to be trifled with, that it was a sin to treat a man so, and I should be punished accordingly."_

_My hand gripped the brandy so hard I feared it would shatter._

_"I didn't tell anyone because he was the husband of my friend, a clergyman, trusted by his village and community. I hoped it would merely be the end of it, but then a few months ago, my friend died...and he, he...came to propose marriage to me, saying it was what she had wished."_

_"And you had little desire to marry him?" I kept my tone light._

_She snorted, a decidedly inelegant sound that lifted my spirits. "Hardly. I had had no desire for him before he touched me...and certainly none after. In fact..." she paused. "The real reason I could not tell her about her husband's actions towards me..."_

_"What?" I turned to face her._

_Ann took a deep breath, her shoulders heaving with emotion. "I was...fond of her. I longed for those visits and our time together. It was enough to simply be near her. I never dreamed of anything more." She paused, "No, that's not quite true. I did dream of it, but I would never have acted upon it. She was a good woman and a loyal wife and I never would have..." She broke off with a gasp._

_"I thought God was punishing me for desiring her, that it was his punishment." She pressed her hands over her face with another dry sob._

_I set the brandy down and went to her. Placing my hands over hers, I drew hers gently down. Her eyes were swollen with tears and I wanted to dry every single one of them._

_ "That's not true." I clasped her face. "And if it were, it would not be the actions of a just god. You did nothing to deserve what that vile man did to you." I stroked her cheek with my thumb. "Remember that now and always, for it is true."_

_Ann took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you." She leaned forward and kissed me softly on the lips._

Jack sighed and closed the logbook. Now she understood the true nature of what Ann's family had done. That they had allowed her to be stolen away and held captive because of their own judgement and bigotry. That they were taking her fortune because they believed it to be theirs because she wasn't fully of right mind and just reason. 

Jack set her jaw. Not if she had anything to say about it. It would be a pleasure to reunite Ann with her sister and help her reclaim her fortune, thwarting her family's dastardly plans.  


* * *

And yet when there came a moment to push ahead to Charles-Town, or stop for supplies, she chose the latter. They had dropped anchor at the other side of Tortuga and the men went off to the town and Jack stayed back at the ship with Ann.

She was delaying the farewell. Jack knew that she was. It was only a day or so more in the end, but she wanted it. To spend that little time with Ann.

They went down to the bay beyond where the ship was anchored. She watched Ann wade in the shallow pool. There was no one else around for miles. The bay was quiet save for the crying of the gulls overhead and the brush of the waves upon the sand. It was a peaceful lazy afternoon. 

Ann took another step, laughing as the sand shifted and moved under her bare feet.

Jack sat back upon the beach, gazing at her. She had removed her coat of course, rolled up her shirt sleeves, but her boots still remained on in spite of the heat of the day. She watched as Ann dipped her feet into the various pools, pleased by the glistening water.

"Aren't you coming in?" Ann asked without looking up.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because it's hot."

That was undeniable. Jack couldn't deny it, even if she wished, and the water did look so delightfully cool. But so far she had kept her distance from Ann as much as possible since Ann’s confession, and it had been a wise call. The last thing she needed was to let herself be drawn in again.

She could wait till they were at Nassau, and she could spend the afternoon in the bed of Angelique, a favorite of hers at the local brothel. That would ease the longing she had now. It did no good...

Her musing was brought to an abrupt halt as Ann turned and looked up at her.

In her thin cotton shift, with the afternoon sunlight streaming straight through it, Jack could make out every curve of her slender frame. The swell of Ann's delicate breasts, the slight curve of her slender hips. Even the patch of golden hair at the v of her legs was visible.

Jack licked her lips, her mouth dry. She couldn't think of a single thing to say. What came out was, "Your shift..." she meant to tell Ann, truly she did, so that she had a chance to cover herself.

Instead Ann glanced down and said, "Oh, you're right, it will get wet, won't it." In one quick motion she reached down and pulled it up over her head. She tossed it on the sand out of reach of the water. Now she stood there completely nude, one hand across her breasts, as though she were attempting to adhere to society, but the other brushed her hair back from her face almost impatiently as she gazed down into the pool at her feet before she lowered her arm completely, stepping into the pool.

Jack was mesmerized. It was impossible not to be. It wasn't as though she had been a stranger to the female form. She had spent a very pleasurable number of nights in the brothel the last time she was at Nassau, but this was different. Ann was different. From her delicate bare ankles, which were enough to cause rioting on the streets of London if someone had been lucky enough to see them, to the swell of her thighs, the sweet fullness of her beautiful breasts, and the pert nipples there, waiting for Jack's mouth upon them. She longed for that, to pay full tribute to all of Ann’s attributes. And yet…she kept holding herself back, wanting to trust that Ann truly wanted this, wanted her. Ann had known such awful treatment at the hands of despicable men. And yet, Jack still wasn’t sure she entirely knew her own desires.

Ann looked up again. "Come in." The sunlight fell over her form like a golden shroud.

"I..." Jack faltered. and then, what the hell. She tore her boots off, stuffing her stockings inside them. She hesitated for a moment over her breeches and then took those off as well. She cast her waistcoat aside and stepped forth only in her long white shirt that fell to her thighs.

"Doesn't the water feel wonderful!" Ann exclaimed. She was running her fingers through the sand, crouched down, her hair falling over her breasts like a rippling waterfall.

It did, that was the truth of it. Jack had to acknowledge that.

Ann looked up at her. "Why're you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?" Jack said roughly.

"Like...you don't know what to make of me." Ann's shoulders hunched as she gazed down at the water again.

"I don't know what to make of you." Jack said truthfully.

"There's nothing much to make." Ann murmured.

"I don't think that's true."

Ann looked up at her again. "Why do you say that?"

"Why do you say there's not?" Jack countered.

"Because society..."

"Fuck society." Jack told her. "It doesn't matter what they say."

"You only say that because you're a pirate." Ann said heatedly. "Everyone else has to think about it."

“I….” Jack stopped. “That’s true.” She gave a little laugh.

Ann brushed her hair back behind her ears. “You haven’t made a move towards to me since I told you…” Her shoulders hunched a little. “So you must care a little about what society thinks.”

Her voice was very low, her face turned away to the waves.

Jack knelt in front of her. “I haven’t….It’s not that. I know you said you wanted this, but can’t you see how difficult that is to know for sure? The last thing in the world I want is to hurt you.” She knew as she spoke that it was true.

Ann looked up into her eyes. “Then don’t hurt me.” 

Her eyes never wavered and finally Jack growled, “Damnit to hell,” and reached for her. Placing her hands on Ann’s shoulders, she kissed her fiercely. 

* * *

Ann shivered as Jack’s hands encircled her, drawing her down upon where Jack’s coat lay spread over the warm sand. Jack’s fingers traced the curve of her breasts, the lightest touch, as though she thought Ann might disappear if she really touched her.

Ann lay back, just gazing up at her as Jack finally leaned down to press her lips to her throat. She pressed a kiss there, in the hollow, and then lower, marking a trail of kisses all the way down Ann’s body til she reached her navel. There Jack mouthed another kiss, before continuing lower.

She paused a moment, glancing up at Ann who held her breath. Jack’s fingers stroked the insides of her thighs and Ann spread her legs wordlessly. She wanted this, she wanted Jack’s touch, she wanted to be made new. The first time had been a blaze of fire. The embrace in the night, comfort of a sort. This was entirely, preciously new.

The first press of Jack’s mouth to her cunt made her gasp, the hungry heat so very shocking and wonderful. Jack licked across her warm folds, teasing her tongue across the hot nub that made Ann’s entire body throb with desire. She ached with need, wanting more and more. Now that she was allowed to desire freely, it flowed out of her like a storm.

Jack kept sucking lightly at her nub, and then she circled Ann’s slit with her fingertips, just rubbing her there until Ann spread her legs still further, begging silently for more. The first press of Jack’s fingertip inside her, made her ache more, even as Jack’s mouth kept moving upon her.

She arched up from the sand with a sharp cry as Jack moved her finger further, pressing inside her. Her teeth were agonizingly, pleasuring Ann to the point of frenzy.

“I need…” She gasped, uncertain of how to even ask for the thing she wanted, the sensation that she knew, but had never experienced with another person before Jack. “Please.”

Jack drew off, which made her want to weep with frustration. And then she licked straight across Ann’s desperate cunt, making her shudder and squirm. Jack did it again, easing another finger inside her as she did. She curled her fingers tightly and Ann cried hoarsely, fighting the waves of pleasure.

“Please, your mouth.” She panted. “Please.” She wanted Jack’s mouth on her again. And Jack obeyed, grazing her clit again, with hungry need.

She rocked her fingers inside Ann, fucking her with a steady rhythm that made Ann’s body shake with little tremors of need. She was barely aware of where she was anymore, the sun overhead, the sand beneath Jack’s coat. The way she laid there, naked upon the beach with Jack between her thighs, pleasuring her with wanton abandon.

‘_I chose this.’ Ann_ thought to herself. _‘I wanted this.’_ She closed her eyes, and reached for Jack’s hair, stroking her, urging her onward with wordless entreaties. _Please, please, please._

As if Jack could read her mind, she sped up the strokes of her fingers, curling deeper, touching a spot that made Ann shudder, arching up with a gasp of pleasure. And then Jack nipped at her clit, sending shock waves of pleasure rippling through her, making her pant, and fall back upon the sand in surrender.

Dazed, Ann stared up at Jack with wonder. Jack merely grinned at her from between her thighs and leaned up to press a kiss upon Ann’s belly.

* * *

After their tryst on the beach they retired to the cabin. Jack opened a bottle of wine, or tried to, and Ann giggled, watching her struggles. The fierce Captain Jack, striding about her cabin in her shirt and nothing else, cursing a corkscrew. 

“Here.” Jack said at last, bringing the bottle and two mugs over to the bed. She poured them both a mug and handed one to Ann before setting the bottle on the floor.

“What shall we toast to?” Ann asked.

Jack considered the matter. “To your freedom.” She suggested at last.

Ann smiled. “To my freedom.” 

Jack clinked her mug against Ann’s with an answering smile. She watched as Ann sipped her wine and then turned to look at her again.

“Well?”

“Well.” Jack repeated, leaning in to trace a kiss over Ann’s collarbone. “I have one or two ideas how to pass the time until the crew return."

She situated herself upon the pillows, drawing Ann down upon her as Ann removed her shift once more.

“Are you sure I won’t hurt you?” Ann asked anxiously. Surely there was a better angle to do this. Lying down was perfectly reasonable after all.

“Perfectly sure.” Jack told her. “Besides, I want to feel you.” She squeezed Ann’s bare ass, loving the way they fit in her hands. “Come on.”

“All right.” Ann slowly lowered herself, still doing her best not to rest too much weight upon Jack, keeping her balance on her knees.

At the first lick of Jack’s tongue up inside her, she threatened to lose every ounce of self-possession she had ever owned. “Oh…_Oh._”

It shouldn’t feel so different. Jack had touched her there before, not even an hour before. Ann was still sensitive from their time on the beach. But somehow it was, and it was glorious. She felt little trills of pleasure running up and down her. Her breasts ached in response and her clit throbbed with need. Still Jack just kept fucking her slowly with her tongue. Pressing it inside her cunt, and then drawing it out to lick her again in the most unfair way.

Ann reached for the headboard, trying to steady herself as she felt her body start to rock against Jack’s mouth. She heard the wordless cries coming from her lips, but she couldn’t stop herself. Her hands gripped the headboard tightly as she felt a rush of heat explode within her, making her shudder helplessly.

Ann slipped off to lie on the bed and Jack immediately sat up and put her arm around her. She touched Ann’s face tenderly. “Are you all right?"

“Yes.” Ann breathed. “I feel wonderful.”

Jack grinned down at her and impulsively Ann leaned up to kiss her, tasting herself upon Jack’s tongue.

* * *

It felt like they spent all their time in bed, now they both knew how much they wanted each other. As often as there was an excuse, and even when there wasn't any, they drew off to be alone in the cabin together. Jack was captain after all. It was easy enough. 

The closer they got to Nassau, the harder it was for Ann to face the coming future. She had ideas of course, daydreams about a life for herself. If Jack had a house on the island, there was no reason why she couldn’t pay her a visit, or...

She had no illusions that Jack would simply settle down and not sail anymore but the house was already there. Surely...that meant something. And yet, what if she was only a mere dalliance for someone as worldly as Jack? A distraction, amusing enough while they were at sea, but not nearly interesting enough to hold her interest when compared to the beauties of Tortuga or Nassau.

Ann bit her lip. Jack had promised her nothing. She shouldn't be naive about this, but all the same, she couldn't help hoping that it mattered even just a little. That their time together, all those hours spent in each other's arms, meant something.

She sighed, forcing herself to face the facts. Regardless of whether it meant something or not, they would be in Nassau soon and she would have to go to her sister's and write that damned letter, telling her aunt and uncle that she was fine, thank you very much, and could they please send more funds at once. She wasn't going to bother explaining that it was a ransom for a pirate captain. A pirate captain she would have happily given her whole fortune to, if Jack would take it.

* * *

The closer they got to Charles-Town, the more Jack dreaded what she had to do. She couldn’t let Ann leave without telling her the truth.

The morning they sailed into Nassau Bay, Jack knew she couldn’t delay any longer. 

Ann was in the cabin when Jack entered it. She looked up with a smile. A smile that faded as she saw Jack’s expression.

“There’s something I have to tell you.” Jack kept her voice brusque. There was no easy way to speak of this, no easy way to tell it. But she had to. She put it off too long.

“The ledger belonging to the captain of the Drowned Lady. As I said when we first met, it contained information about you.”

“Oh?” Ann kept her face averted. “What did it say?”

Jack halted. She didn’t want to tell her this, but after everything, after the way Ann had bared herself, and shared her intimate secrets, Jack had to be truthful with her in return.

“Your aunt and uncle…paid for your abduction. It was all planned.” She paused here and wet her lips. “They paid the captain 500 pounds to steal you away.”

There was the barest hint of a smile upon Ann’s lips. “I wonder if he realized he had been taken for a fool.” She glanced at Jack and shrugged her shoulders a little. “He could have gotten a lot more through a ransom.”

“You’re not upset? Not horrified?” Jack stared at her. “Does this not shock you?” It had shocked her and she had long since given up on thinking the best of people.

Ann shrugged her shoulders again. “There was a time yes it would have done so, and another time it would have crushed me utterly to know they wished me gone with so much vehemence. And yet now, I don’t care. I don’t have it in me to care.” She turned and looked out the window. “This is what you’ve been keeping from me?”

“I…yes.” Jack faltered. “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

Ann looked at her over her shoulder. “Then you’ve already shown more care than either my aunt or my uncle. Thank you for telling me.”

Jack couldn’t stand it any longer. She went to Ann and cupped her face. “Your family doesn’t deserve you. You are better than them, and they know it.” She stroked Ann’s face, looking closely at her. The words on her lips were so close to being spoken. _I don’t care about the ransom. It doesn’t matter anymore. Come with me. Sail away with me. Never leave my side_.

But she couldn’t bring herself to speak the words. She couldn’t ask that of Ann. Just because she enjoyed a few weeks of freedom aboard the Dauntless, a few nights of pleasure in Jack’s bed, it didn’t mean she would turn her back on civilized society and give it up. She would be a fool if she even considered it. And Jack was a fool for wanting it.

She licked her lips, smoothed her thumb over Ann’s cheek. “I’ll go see if the rowboat is ready.” She went upstairs before she risked saying anything foolish she’d regret later.

Ann went to stand in the at the window, gazing out at the dark water. So her deepest fears were true. Her family, her aunt and uncle had done this on purpose to her. She wanted to think they hadn't known the full measure of horrors that were visited upon her, but she had no way of knowing for certain, and truthfully she couldn't tell. It was entirely possible they could write it off as necessary due to her mental infliction. She wondered briefly what the log had said, but in the end what Jack had told her was enough.

Ann squared her shoulders and faced the sea with clear eyes. Never again would she be the same timid creature she had been before. She would make her own way in the world. She could do that. 

She heard a noise from somewhere and looked down. There, scaling the side of the ship was a dark figure. Ann gasped and turned to head for the door. 

"Jack!" She cried out, but the figure was already through the window, wrapping an arm around her neck. 

"Jack." Ann struggled helplessly, but the man's grip was too strong and she succumbed to darkness.  


* * *

Jack returned to the cabin a short while later, having ascertained that the boat was ready to carry them to shore. 

"Ann?" She looked around the cabin. There was no sign of the other woman. Jack felt a stab of fear. Surely she wouldn't have done anything to harm herself. She hadn't cared that her aunt and uncle had betrayed her. Surely that had been true. She wouldn’t…

"Ann!" She shouted, but the cabin remained empty. There was only the open window swinging in the breeze.

Jack went over to the window and looked out. Beyond the bay lay Nassau, but to the far left was a sloop moving rather fast for merely returning to their ship. Jack had a sinking feeling in her gut.

She turned and ran for the stairs, storming her way up on deck. She jostled a crew member out of the way as she reached the railing. Jerking her spyglass from her pocket she brought to her eye.

There were three men in the sloop and something, someone, under a large black pile netting. And then as Jack watched through the glass, she saw the netting move. Gripping the glass tighter she focused again, and there, she could just make out a mass of golden curls.

They took her. They dared swoop in right under her nose and steal Ann. Jack gripped the railing and stared at the sloop. That was bad enough that they shared so little regard for the wrath of Captain Jack, but the mere fact that they had taken Ann...

She shouted for Joseph. "Raise the anchor."

"Captain?" the quartermaster looked at her questioningly. "I thought we were staying in Nassau."

"First we have to catch a ship." Her gaze never wavered as she watched the sloop moving steadily away from the Dauntless.


End file.
